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The rugged topography of California, with its sloping mountain ranges and rapids-filled rivers, is corralled by hundreds of man-made dams. The structures provide hydroelectricity to the state’s major cities, offer flood control and form reservoirs for municipal water supply. Most of the largest dams fall under the regulatory jurisdiction of the California Department of Water Resources, which maintains a database of dam data. While dam size can be measured by a variety of statistics, such as materials volume, drainage area or other figures, its height -- the distance in feet between the dam crest elevation and the lowest elevation of the outside limit of the dam -- is the primary index in determining California’s five largest dams.

Oroville Dam

Not just California’s tallest dam, the Oroville Dam in Butte County is also the largest dam in the United States at 742 feet, according to the state’s Division of Safety of Dams. Completed in 1968, the massive earth fill structure spans the Feather River and serves three main purposes: hydropower generation, flood control and irrigation in surrounding communities. The Oroville Dam also manages an incredible amount of water; its full capacity measures 3,537,577 acre-feet, and it boasts a drainage area of 3,607 square miles.

New Bullards Bar Dam

Significantly shorter than the Oroville Dam, the New Bullards Bar Dam in Yuba County was completed in 1970 and stands an impressive 635 feet tall. Built across the North Yuba River, the variable radius arch concrete structure provides a reservoir capacity of 969,900 acre-feet and a drainage area of 481 square miles. Like the Oroville Dam, New Bullards Bar generates power, drinking water, flood control and irrigation for the surrounding communities.

New Melones Dam

This earth and rockfill structure, managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, measures 625 feet tall and spans the Stanislaus River on the boundary between Calaveras and Tuolumne counties. The dam, completed in 1978, replaced the older Melones dam, a 183-foot tall structure that is now submerged under the New Melones Lake reservoir, which has a capacity of 2.4 million acre-feet. Primarily, the New Melones Dam provides flood control for communities in the central Sierra Nevada foothills; an adjacent power plant downstream from the dam generates electricity for the equivalent of 72,000 households.

Shasta Dam

The 602-foot Shasta Dam, on the Sacramento River in Shasta County, boasts several similarities to America’s largest dam outside California -- the Hoover Dam. Like its Nevada cousin, the Shasta Dam is a curved gravity concrete structure; upon its completion in 1945, it ranked as a civil engineering triumph due to its continuous pour concrete construction. Shasta Lake, the resulting man-made reservoir with a capacity of 4,552,000 acre-feet, is a popular recreation area. Shasta Dam is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and generates hydroelectric power for northern California.

New Don Pedro Dam

At 580 feet, the New Don Pedro Dam was completed in 1971, replacing a 1923 structure. The first dam had a minimal 289,000 acre-feet capacity, while the newer dam’s capacity totals 2,030,000 acre-feet and provides water for crop irrigation on 5,800 farms, power generation, flood control and public recreation. The earth embankment dam spans the Tuolumne River in Tuolumne County.

About the Author

I am a freelance journalist and author of the forthcoming book THE FORBIDDEN APPLE: A Century of Sex and Sin in New York City (Ig Publishing, January 2009). I have a number of years' experience in writing about local culture in New York City, including trend pieces, food and restaurant reviews, celebrity profiles and investigative stories. In addition, I've written about topics of national scope for Playgirl, BUST, PlanetOut Publishing and other outlets. I am currently looking for freelance writing assignments that have the potential to develop into long-term working relationships.